70% private hospitals lack fire safety measures in Cuttack

Saturday’s fire mishap at a healthcare facility in Cuttack has exposed the lax enforcement activities which have enabled several private hospitals and nursing homes to brazenly operate without fire safety and registration certificates under the Clinical Establishment Act.

If sources are to be believed, more than 70 per cent of the private hospitals and nursing homes operating in Cuttack city will be forced to down their shutters if enforcement is carried out strictly to check fire safety compliance.

A senior fire officer said, “Apart from the entry and exit gates, at least three metre of vacant space surrounding the hospital is required for availing fire safety certificate. But there are several private hospitals and nursing homes in the city which do not have even a metre of vacant space surrounding them.”

If a fire breaks out in a private hospital or nursing home operating on the lanes of the city, it will be an impossible task to rescue the patients, he added. According to official reports, of the 363 private hospitals and nursing homes running with valid documents in Cuttack, 274 are operating in the city while the rest 89 are functioning in different rural areas of the district.

However, unofficial sources said more than 450 private hospitals and nursing homes are running in Cuttack city alone. While over 175 private hospitals and nursing homes are operating without valid documents including building plan approval, fire safety and registration certificates under the Clinical Establishment Act, several others have obtained the papers illegally in violation of the guidelines.

This was evident from the recent incident in which the administration sealed Chanakya hospital at Ranihat on July 6 after being directed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). After the death of a patient in 2021, the family had moved the NHRC alleging negligence by the hospital. During hearing of the case, the rights panel came to know that the hospital was running without required documents for the last nine years. Subsequently, it directed the district administration to close the hospital.

Chief district medical officer (CDMO) Makaranda Beuria said his office is authorised to give permission for setting up 30-bed private hospitals. Similarly, the office of DMET is authorised to issue certificates of registration for setting up hospitals with more than 30 beds. “We would carry out enforcement soon to inspect and verify documents of all the private hospitals and nursing homes in the district,” he said. New Indian Express